Ski resorts, a privilege available also during the summer

Tena Valley

Being able to visit a ski resort in the summer can be a unique experience. From the Pyrenees to Sierra Nevada, Spanish ski resorts are one of the main tourist destinations of Europe during the winter, but also in the summer there is an ample offer of leisure, sports and adventure that allows for the enjoyment of its well-cared-for facilities and its modern hotel infrastructures. Mountain bikes, fishing rods, canoes or excursions are some of the alternatives to skiing in this heavenly enclave.

Sierra Nevada , in Granada; the Pyrenees peaks; the mountains of the Iberian Range, the Picos de Europa... They are all uniquely beautiful mountains that change the snow for green pastures, deep lakes and fast-moving waters in the summer. Exceptional places, with unique flora and fauna, crossed by tracks and paths that are ideal to admire or to walk from any of the over thirty ski resorts located in a natural environment, privileged for the practice of adventure sports.

The alternatives are numerous and they cater to all tastes and ages. From rest and relaxation to the practice of the largest variety of specialist sports, such as tennis, swimming, horse riding, boating, archery, pelota court and golf. The bravest can choose to practice mountain climbing, descent in rivers and ravines, bungee jumping, rafting, hydrospeed, windsurf, quad trips, Tyrolean traverse, kayaking or potholing.

If vertigo allows it and you want to have unforgettable sensations, you may also enjoy unique landscapes with bird's-eye-view, be it paragliding, ultralight, delta flights or balloons. Those are experiences that may be exceeded, if you decide to take a panoramic flight by helicopter to get to know the depressions in the Pyrenees, such as the Tena valley, close to Panticosa resort.

Sports and courses

Many high mountain sports facilities offer introductory environmental workshops, pony riding, mini-golf, English courses, canoe excursions, Tibetan bridges, play areas with swings, giant spider webs, elastic beds or inflatable castles. For the adventurous ones, there are also courses on first aid in the mountain, orientation and handling of compasses, as well as camping and survival skills, such as that which takes place in Manzaneda, in inland Galicia. It is just a question of you choosing.

To tone up your body and leave your stress behind, nothing better than a dip into thermal spa waters, at Panticosa for example, high up in central Pyrenees. This is a spa with thermal baths, water jets, whirlpool baths, steam room and sauna, among many other services. There are many spas in Spain offering modern facilities along with years of history - unique enclaves of peace in stunning natural settings.

Visiting its mountain resorts could be the perfect excuse for getting to know inland Spain with its hidden, picture postcard villages, and for discovering the historical and artistic heritage hidden within them. Throughout Spain you will find age-old artistic heritage, festivals and traditional celebrations, along with varied gastronomy, rich in flavours and aromas, to satisfy the most demanding of tastes.